True North Initiative News Scan 01 01 2018

TOP STORIES

Iran state TV: 12 killed in protests, attacks on security

At least 12 people have been killed in the ongoing protests in Iran, and armed protesters have tried to take over police stations and military bases, state TV reported Monday. The protests began Thursday in Mashhad over economic issues and have since expanded to several cities, with some protesters chanting against the government and the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hundreds of people have been arrested. (CTV) (AP) (BBC

Anti-government unrest continues across Iran for 4th day

Some of the problems that have brought people into the streets in widespread protests throughout Iran over the past four days have existed for years before his presidency, Hassan Rouhani told the Iranian nation on Sunday evening. The change his cabinet promised may “take time,” he said, adding that it is not fair to blame the executive branch for all the problems. (Rudaw) (BBC) (Yahoo)

Iran's Rouhani rejects violence but vows 'space for criticism'

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that government bodies must provide "space for criticism" as he sought to head off days of unrest, but warned protesters that violence was unacceptable. (Yahoo) (Bloomberg)

Iran protests go on as social media apps blocked

The largest protests to strike Iran in nearly a decade continued unabated Sunday, despite a government move to block access to Instagram and a popular messaging app used by activists to organize, with even President Hassan Rouhani acknowledging the public’s anger over the Islamic Republic’s flagging economy. Rouhani and other leaders made a point to warn that the government wouldn’t hesitate to crack down on those it considers lawbreakers amid the demonstrations, which began Thursday over the economic woes plaguing Iran. (AP)

More And More Conservative Leaders Are Voicing Their Support For The Iranian People

President Donald Trump is continuing to voice support for protesters in Iran, saying the government there is trying to throttle the demonstrations by cutting off communications. (Yahoo)

Trudeau calls on Canadians to work together in 2018

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is calling on Canadians to put the values he says unite the country — openness, compassion, equality and inclusion — into practice heading into the new year. In a New Year’s statement released Sunday, Trudeau says the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017 celebrated how people of different backgrounds, origins, cultures, and faiths came together to make Canada the country it is today. (Toronto Sun)

Trudeau’s ‘erratic’ behaviour threatens trade relationships: Scheer

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is accusing the prime minister of “erratic” behaviour when it comes to international trade, telling The West Block‘s Vassy Kapelos that Justin Trudeau risks alienating the very international partners Canada will need to rely on in years to come. (Global)

Turkish police have detained 20 people, including 15 foreign nationals, on suspicion of links to Islamic State during raids in Istanbul, tightening security ahead of the anniversary of a nightclub attack in which dozens were killed. The raids by the anti-terrorist branch of the Istanbul police took place on Saturday and targeted four locations across the city, the police said in a statement on Sunday. They did not give the nationalities of the foreign suspects. (EWN)

OTHER STORIES (Domestic and International)

New year rings in changes to laws, taxes, wages

New Year's Day always brings a round of changes to laws, regulations and taxes, and 2018 brings its fair share. One welcome change for Canadian small businesses is a drop in their tax rate to 10 per cent from 10.5. That reduction had been promised for some time but was brought forward as the Liberal government struggled to deal with a backlash against other proposed changes, including a plan to make it harder for small business owners to sprinkle income among family members. (CBC)

Drunk driving to be largely decriminalized in Alberta in 2018

Changes are coming to the way drunk drivers are policed and prosecuted in Alberta with the provincial government set to issue a directive to police that will largely decriminalize impaired driving, CBC News has learned. (CBC)

Canada still on pace to fall short of Paris target, despite ambitious climate policies: UN filings

New projections released by Ottawa on Friday suggest Canada is well short of meeting its Paris commitments, even as the government continues to roll out ambitious climate policies expected to substantially reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the next 15 years. In its year-end filing to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Canada’s environmental office said it expects total GHG emissions to fall to 583 megatonnes by 2030, a roughly one-third reduction compared to 2015 levels. That marks a sharp drop from estimates just one year ago, which put that figure closer to 700Mt by 2030. (Financial Post)

Former refugee board chair says 1 year not enough for some refugees to find employment

A former chair of Canada's immigration and refugee board says government sponsored refugees often can't find gainful employment before their 12-month sponsorship runs out. Peter Showler is part of a group that has helped four Syrian families resettle in Ottawa. (CBC)

They left Afghanistan to study. Their family told them not to come back.

Zaheer and Zohra Dauwer stood at the decrepit door way of a Hamilton, Ont., shelter, still holding on to their two 20 kilogram suitcases. They waited as a staff member ran through a list of rules and regulations for the young Afghan couple who, still clad in their winter jackets, had nowhere else to go. (Toronto Star)

Majority of Canadians believe Trudeau is handling Trump well: poll

Donald Trump’s presidency has stirred up almost as much debate and discussion in Canada as it has in the U.S. According to a new Ipsos poll commissioned by Global News, a majority of Canadians believe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is doing a good job managing Canada’s relationship with the U.S. President. (Global)

Former Joint Chiefs chairman: Nuclear war with North Korea closer than ever

The United States is "closer to a nuclear war with North Korea" than ever, Adm. Mike Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday, adding that he does not "see the opportunities to solve this diplomatically at this particular point." In an interview on ABC's "This Week," Mullen warned that President Donald Trump's provocative rhetoric aimed at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un likely indicates he would prefer to take a more aggressive approach to countering the rogue regime's rapidly evolving nuclear weapons program. (CNN)

Kim Jong Un warns of nuclear 'button' on his desk

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday the United States should be aware that his country's nuclear forces are now a reality, not a threat. But he also struck a conciliatory tone in his annual New Year's address, wishing success for the Winter Olympics set to begin in the South in February and suggesting the North may send a delegation to participate. (CTV)

President Donald Trump has announced that unless he gets money for his proposed Mexican border wall, he will not extend protections to illegal immigrants who entered the US as children. Under Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) act, such immigrants - termed “Dreamers” - were able to stay in the US provided they fit certain educational, employment, and legal criteria. (SCMP)

Venezuela to raise minimum wage despite economic crisis

Venezuela is set to raise its minimum wage by 40%, in a move expected to worsen already high levels of inflation. The country is suffering from an economic crisis in which shortages of food and medicine are common. Venezuela's economy has been hit by falling oil revenue and the plummeting value of the Bolivar. (BBC)

Muslim women can now travel for Haj without male guardian: PM Modi

Terming the policy of allowing Muslim women to perform Haj only in the company of a male guardian as "injustice", Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government has removed the restriction+ following which hundreds of women have applied to travel alone for the pilgrimage. (Times of India)

Trump rips Pakistan in first tweet of 2018

President Trump blasted Pakistan in his first tweet of 2018, saying its leaders have given the U.S. “nothing by lies & deceit.” “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools,” he said Monday morning. (Hill Times)

EDITORIAL AND OPINION PIECES

Candice Malcolm: Trudeau happy to say goodbye to 2017

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his inner circle will be breathing a sigh of relief that 2017 is coming to an end. It hasn’t been a very good year for the Trudeau government,and three news stories reveal what went wrong for the Liberals. (Toronto Sun)

Lorne Gunter: 2017, the year of mock outrage

I remember it as if it was yesterday. There was once a time when minority cultures considered it an achievement when the dominant culture adopted one of their traditions, practices or symbols. I remember it as if it was yesterday because it was. (Toronto Sun)

The Trudeau government has finally admitted that even if it implements every one of its current climate change polices, costing Canadians tens of billions of dollars, it will still fall far short of its greenhouse gas reduction targets for 2020 and 2030. The acknowledgement comes in the government’s latest mandatory submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, submitted Dec. 29. (Toronto Sun)

A clutch of real-estate industry and government officials in Canada still want the public to believe foreign capital and immigration policy have little to do with the sky-high housing markets in Vancouver and Toronto. But the evidence is pushing their vested voices to the fringe of the affordability debate. (Vancouver Sun)